Treasury Department reaches settlement with pro-Cuba activist accused of violating embargo

Treasury Department reaches settlement with pro-Cuba activist accused of
violating embargo
BY NORA GÁMEZ TORRES
ngameztorres@elnuevoherald.com

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has
agreed to drop legal proceedings against longtime pro-Cuba activist
Albert A. Fox Jr. in exchange for a fine of $10,000.

The settlement comes four months after OFAC hit the Tampa-based
businessman with a $100,000 fine for alleged violations of the U.S.
embargo during two trips to the island within the past six years.

Fox, president of the Alliance for Responsible Cuba Policy Foundation,
was accused of providing unauthorized travel services to the island for
delegations of Americans as well as conducting unauthorized transactions
during two separate business trips, one in August 2010 and the other in
September 2011. The 2011 trip included several politicians, who had
seats on the inaugural Tampa-Havana flight.

"OFAC concluded that the Alleged Violations were frequently undertaken
while the Individual held himself out as an officer of the Alliance" and
that "the alleged violations were not voluntarily self-disclosed to
OFAC," said the information released by the Treasury Department on its
website. It also indicated that the sanctioned "individual," in
reference to Fox, was aware that his actions violated the embargo, as he
was warned in a letter from OFAC.

Fox told el Nuevo Herald he still believes he did nothing "un-American"
and did not break the law. The settlement document obtained by el Nuevo
Herald states that "this agreement shall not in any way be construed as
any admission by Fox or the Alliance that either engaged in any alleged
violations, including as described in this settlement agreement, that
they denied."

The final fine imposed was significantly lower than the initial $100,000
fine because OFAC took into account the financial situation of Fox and
the Alliance and considered that the actions had caused "minimal harm to
the current objectives of the U.S. sanctions program regarding Cuba,"
according to a report released by the Treasury Department last week.

"Several experts told me that this was truly a good agreement but the
tragedy is that the government has dedicated years to this
investigation, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to find
nothing," Fox said. "What sense does it make for taxpayers to pay for
the salaries of all those people?"

In documents that were obtained by el Nuevo Herald and detailthe
response to OFAC, Fox's defense attorney asserted that the OFAC office
in Miami had "harassed" Fox for years because of public statements
calling for the closure of that office and because of the activist's
efforts in organizing exchanges between Tampa-area politicians and
representatives of the Cuban government. Also, the defense asserts, that
OFAC office ignored allegations made by Fox about violations committed
by other persons and entities in relation to travel to Cuba.

"My client continues to believe he did nothing un-American, illegal,
immoral, or unethical and that OFAC's 14 years of harassment of him has
been solely politically motivated," Arthur Heitzer, who represents both
Fox and the Alliance, said in a statement.

In 2002, Fox helped arrange a meeting between the then-mayor of Tampa,
Dick Greco, and Fidel Castro in Havana and has been a promoter of the
reestablishment of relations between both countries.

Last week, OFAC also announced sanctions against Toronto-Dominion Bank
for 167 alleged violations on transactions tied to Cuba and Iran. The
bank reached an agreement to avoid being taken to court and paid a fine
of $516,115.

A statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry said that these sanctions,
"just a week before the end of the current U.S. government's mandate,
demonstrate the persistence of the economic, commercial and financial
blockade and its extraterritorial reach."

FOLLOW NORA GÁMEZ TORRES ON TWITTER @NGAMEZTORRES

Source: OFAC reaches settlement with pro-Cuba activist Albert A. Fox Jr.
| Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article127076429.html